2015 Water Project of the Year

Water Project of the Year

For the water treatment plant, commissioned during 2014, that shows the greatest innovation in terms of optimising its physical or environmental footprint.

Lakeview WTP phase 2 expansion, Canada

What is it?

A 400,000m3/d expansion to a plant treating water from Lake Ontario to potable standards for 1.3 million people, using ozone oxidation, submerged hollow-fibre membranes, and a UV treatment step. The Can$450 million expansion forms part of an aggressive capital expansion programme designed to comply with stringent new regulations, and took the plant’s total capacity to 1.2 million m3/d, with the potential to expand further to 2 million m3/d.

Who is responsible?

Designer CH2M Hill led the procurement of the project on behalf of the plant owner, the Region of Peel. GE supplied its ZeeWeed membranes, while Trojan furnished the UV system. The plant is operated via a third-party agreement with the Ontario Clean Water Agency.

What makes it special?

The innovative deployment of one of the world’s largest integrated membrane facilities combats coagulation and allows 95% of process residuals to be disposed of into the source water stream, largely eliminating the need for costly disposal by truck, and keeping chemical deliveries to a minimum.

The rollout of the expansion took place at a sprawling, busy site, with a number of other extension and improvement projects taking place simultaneously. The designers and planners demonstrated an unflappable grasp of one of the most complex management situations around, whilst taking account of a host of competing interests to successfully bring the project home.

The successful procurement and construction of the plant marked a new high for the water treatment industry in Canada, meeting every target as far as budget, schedule and sustainability goals were concerned, and delivering an industry-leading capital cost of Can$0.40 per litre per day of water treatment capacity.

Distinction

Andijk III pretreatment plant, Netherlands

What is it?

Who is responsible?

The facility was delivered by a team comprising PWN Technologies and RWB Water Services, with PWN responsible for construction and commissioning, and RWB co-responsible for equipment production and supply.

What makes it special?

The project marks a crucially significant milestone for the arrival of ceramic membranes, a product that had previously been considered an expensive option, but which is now a serious contender in terms of offering an extended lifetime versus conventional membranes, as well as reduced cleaning costs, and resistance to backwash pressure. The Andijk facility is the reference that could act as the launchpad for the technology around the world.

The combination of ceramic membranes and suspended ion exchange results in water that can be treated at a significantly lower cost, while avoiding issues of coagulation and fouling at the ceramic membrane stage. Advanced oxidation ensures the full elimination of potentially hazardous substances from the resulting permeate.

The installation of Andijk III as a high-spec pretreatment facility extended the lifetime and reduced the energy footprint of the existing plant, and also resulted in a significantly reduced need for treatment and cleaning chemicals, making the existing infrastructure a far more environmentally compliant asset for the client, the PWN Water Supply Company North-Holland.